Yet when I spoke with the White Oak junior quarterback he was about as nonchalant as you could be about a performance that saw him rush for 290 yards and score five touchdowns in a 45-33 win at Red Springs.

Perhaps it was simply his demeanor, but the 15-year-old Harris didn’t brag about his play, which helped the Vikings earn their first legitimate win under second-year coach Chad Ashley and earn The Daily News football player of the week honors.

Harris was soft-spoken and hesitant to speak about his performance. He simply came across a little uncomfortable talking about himself. However, he was sure to credit his offensive line for creating “a lot of open space” for him.

But if there was one thing that stood out it was what he said when asked if this sort of effort came as a surprise to him or his teammates.

“I’m not really surprised because we have been working hard,” he said. “I expect us to be pretty good.”

Harris certainly was good for the Vikings in the season opener. And they will likely need another strong effort from him tonight as White Oak (1-0) visits city rival Northside (0-1), which has beaten WOHS nine consecutive years.

Although Harris has what it takes to lead the Vikings past the Monarchs tonight, it would be a daunting task for him to score five touchdowns against Northside.

Nonetheless, I asked him how he would feel if he, indeed, accomplished such feat.

“That would be awesome,” Harris said.

But as long as Harris stays within the system, he has a chance to do fine tonight.

This is just his second year of being a quarterback for the Vikings’ option-oriented attack. Harris said he previously was a running back but the coaches asked him to switch positions.

“It was a little frustrating, but I got the hang of it,” he said.

While Harris brings some athleticism and toughness to the offense, more importantly he provides a solid presence inside the huddle, Ashley said.

The coach saw that Friday.

“He obviously did a great job of commanding the offense,” Ashley said. “As the quarterback, he needs to take charge of the offense and I think he’s done a great job doing that.”

Now for the panel

WCTI-12 sports anchor Brian North is the leader of The Daily News high school football forecasting panel after week 1 following his 5-2 effort last week.